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The Art of Memory (Paperback)

by Frances A. Yates (Author)
3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
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Editorial Reviews

Product Description
"Once in a very great while, historical scholarship produces a book which makes one immediately begin re-thinking many of one's major suppositions about the thought systems of the past. Professor Yates has given us such a book."--Norman D. Hinton, The Modern Schoolman

From the Inside Flap
The Art of Memory is the classic study of how people learned to retain vast stores of knowledge before the invention of the printed page. In it, Frances A. Yates traces the art of memory from its treatment by Greek orators, through its Gothic transformations in the Middle Ages, to the occult forms it took in the Renaissance, and finally to its use in the seventeenth century. This book, the first to relate the art of memory to the history of culture as a whole, was revolutionary when it first appeared and continues to mesmerize readers with its lucid and revelatory insights.


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Product Details

  • Paperback: 464 pages
  • Publisher: University Of Chicago Press (April 1, 2001)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0226950018
  • ISBN-13: 978-0226950013
  • Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 1.2 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #47,609 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

    #19 in  Books > Health, Mind & Body > Psychology & Counseling > History
    #24 in  Books > History > Historical Study > History of Ideas
    #48 in  Books > History > World > Medieval

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Look Inside This Book
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews

15 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
3.9 out of 5 stars (15 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
119 of 123 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars If "revelatory" weren't such a big word, I'd use it!, July 9, 2000
This review is from: The Art of Memory (Paperback)
A book about memory? Mnemonics, eh? Dull stuff...

WRONG!!! This is just about the most engrossing scholarly work I have ever read. Quite apart from displaying a masterly grasp of her subject, which is far more interesting than I would have believed before reading the book, Yates throws fascinating light on a number of seemingly unrelated topics: the Roman art of rhetoric, the architecture of the Globe theatre, the foundations of Renaissance syncretism, the rise of the scientific method, the delightful irony of a patron saint of science turning out to be an arch-magician, psychological aspects of imagination... -- the list is a long one.

However, for me, it is Yates' illumination of the profound relationship between the scientific method and earlier attempts at mastering the universe by magical means, that stands out as a single, most important aspect of the book. In fact, I would go as far as to say that no study of history and/or philosophy of science can be complete without acknowledging and exploring the relevant insights of "The Art of memory".

If you have any interest in human attempts to comprehend and control the universe, a well-thumbed copy of this book should be on your bookshelf!

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43 of 44 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent exploration of a forgotten art, September 12, 2002
By Kevin S. Kennedy (Lexington, KY USA) - See all my reviews
If you are fascinated by history or by scholarship throughout recorded time, you should enjoy this book. Francis Yates has created a detailed examination of memory techniques and their evolution over the course of generations. Beginning in ancient Greece and continuing through the Middle Ages, Yates shows how the art of remembering began as a sort of parlor trick and developed into an important skill in both religion and the occult. The influence from both individuals and cultures is described in a scholarly (yet not annoyingly so) way. While this book is not for everyone, its intended audience should be delighted.
NOTE: This book is not a "how-to" manual for memory. It provides only a very general description of memory methods and is instead an exploration of the history of the art.
An excellent companion piece to this book is _The Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci_. Both books were listed in the acknowledgements of Thomas Harris' _Hannibal_.
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49 of 52 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars intellectual history as it should be written, December 24, 1999
By Al Kihano (Iskandria) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Art of Memory (Paperback)
In this era of gigabytes and floppy disks, it is easy to forget that once upon a time we had to commit things to memory. Yates does a wonderful job of recovering the ``art of memory,'' a complex and fascinating set of techniques that were in common use for thousands of years. Orators would construct elaborate conceptual ``memory palaces'' and use them to memorize speeches of staggering length.

Well-written and erudite, Yates' book is the best work I know of on this subject. She treats ancient GReek times and the medieval era with equal ease. For further reading on the subject, try Spence's _The MEmory PAlace of MAtteo Ricci_ or Carruthers' _The Book of Memory_.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars A history of memory
This is pretty much an exhaustive coverage of the memory mansion technology, where a person creates a virtual space and symbols and associates information with each symbol. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Taylor Ellwood

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent. It will change your views on Architecture and the Mind.
I consider this one of the most important books I have ever read. It changed my views on ancient and medieval architecture, memory, and the mind. Read more
Published 12 months ago by William J. Romanos

1.0 out of 5 stars History book with no methods for application
The author states more than a few times that "I myself have never applied these methods for remembering. I am only a historian of the art. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Richard S. Sarvate

5.0 out of 5 stars This book will change your life
Quite simply one of the dozen or so most amazing books of history ever written. It will change your idea of history, art and even your own memory. Read more
Published on May 13, 2007 by Christa Walder

1.0 out of 5 stars Definitely pass on this one
I bought the book because recently I have been into the personal mastery thing like increasing your memory, reading better, and so on. Read more
Published on September 22, 2004 by Mariano Apuya Jr

1.0 out of 5 stars An arduous, fruitless journey into trivia and occultism...
Yates has produced what may be the most scholarly historical work on memory. And, like most pedantry, it takes a Herculean effort to finish it-and perhaps an even greater effort... Read more
Published on June 10, 2002 by Johnny Lee

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing
This is reasonably hard going, as all Yates books are, but it really a great read. Complex and deep. Something to open your eyes to a older (and forgotten) world.
Published on July 17, 2001 by Steve Armstrong

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding book
An incredible book and very historical in nature. I would refer to the previous reviews of this book in the light of their individual statements. Read more
Published on July 9, 2001 by J. Reich

5.0 out of 5 stars A Classic
A unique and detailed historical account of the Art of Memory. This one is a "keeper."
Published on June 10, 2001

5.0 out of 5 stars A book to change one's world-view
I ran into this book after having learned over 3000 Chinese characters through what turned out to be Art of Memory techniques. Read more
Published on April 25, 2000

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